An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life
by The Dalai Lama, Nicholas Vreeland
List Price:
Our Price: $6.94
You Save: $6.05 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.82 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Nicholas Vreeland, The Dalai LamaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-04
ISBN: 0316930938
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life
Book Review: Buddhism in a nutshell
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is a general introduction to Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. It covers a whole range of topics including the three jewel of refuge, karma, equanimity, loving-kindness (the wish that all may enjoy happiness), bodhicitta (the motivation to serve all people), emptiness and more. The book describes the different levels a student of Buddhism proceeds through as he achieves greater and greater enlightenment. These levels range from the beginners task of conquering personal faults, such as anger, all the way up to Buddhahood (the highest form of understanding of reality combined with the desire to benefit all sentient beings). All this is achieved through the practical methods of analytical meditation and settled meditation. In analytical meditation rational thought is applied in order to generate a specific quality, such as patience. In settled meditation the practitioner remains fixed on a feeling, or object of contemplation, without thought.
<An Open Heart> is in fact a summary of Kanalasha's <Middle-Length Stages of Meditation>, Togmay Sangpo's <The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas> and Langri Tangpa's <Eight Verses on Training the Mind>. These are the central texts of Tibetan Buddhism.
As I have tried to indicate above, despite the subtitle of the book, this work is not exclusively on compassion (the desire to alleviate the suffering of all beings). Compassion is a very important part of Buddhism and indeed chapters seven to ten concentrate specifically on that subject. There are fifteen chapters in all.
The Dalai Lama is a very clear speaker who has set as his task the aim of introducing the world to Buddhism. As a result this book is very easy to follow and would be ideal for someone seeking a first time encounter with Buddhism. I would have to note, however, that so much material is cover in such a brief way that the book could be said to lack substance. It does not contain meaty discussions. The reader is left with a desire to follow up his new-found interests by reading other books probably written by other authors. I should also note that while the two methods of meditation are discussed very few practical suggestions are included. The book does not contain a step by step guide or how-to section.
Buddhism Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Buddhism Books
Zen Buddhism: A History; Vol. 2: Japan (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture)by Heinrich Dumoulin
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1989-12; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
History Zen Buddhism 2 Volumeby Dumoulin
Macmillan Library Reference; Published: 1990-06-18; Paperback; Book
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Livingby Gary McClain, Eve Adamson
Alpha; Published: 2000-11-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.15
Price in other shops:
365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heartby Dalai Lama
Element Books Ltd.; Published: 2003-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $46.95
The Power of Compassionby Tenzin Gyatso
Thorsons; Published: 2002-03; Audio Cassette; Book
Price in other shops:
No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zenby Jakusho Kwong, Peter Levitt
Harmony; Published: 2003-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $53.80
An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the Worldby Pankaj Mishra
Picador; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.34
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2001-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
Zen 24/ 7: All Zen, All the Timeby Philip T. Sudo
HarperOne; Published: 2005-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.86
Price in other shops:
Buddha Is as Buddha Does: The Ten Original Practices for Enlightened Livingby Lama Surya Das
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 2007-04-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.70
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Art of Happiness in a Troubled Worldby Dalai Lama, Howard Cutler M.D.
Harmony; Published: 2009-10-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.45
Price in other shops:
Awakening the Buddha Within: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western Worldby Lama Surya Das
Broadway Books; Published: 1998-06-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops:
In My Own Words: An Introduction to My Teachings and Philosophyby Dalai Lama
Hay House; Published: 2011-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops:
The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spiritualityby Dalai Lama
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2006-09-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
The Meaning of Lifeby The Dalai Lama, Jeffrey Hopkins, Tenzin Gyatso
Wisdom Publications; Published: 2000-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.54
Price in other shops:
Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspectiveby The Dalai Lama
Snow Lion Publications; Published: 1997-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.96
Price in other shops:
The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace: The Essential Life and Teachingsby Dalai Lama
Hampton Roads Publishing; Published: 2009-03-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.47
Price in other shops:
How to See Yourself As You Really Areby His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Atria Books; Published: 2007-11-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.94
Price in other shops:
How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Lifeby Dalai Lama
Atria Books; Published: 2003-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.42
Price in other shops:
The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Livingby Dalai Lama
Riverhead Hardcover; Published: 2009-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.48
Price in other shops: